10 tips to learn English quickly

Although it is true that it takes time and effort to speak fluent English, it is also true that in a short time you can speak English well enough to hold a simple conversation.

It should be taken into account that in order to learn English quickly, it is important to be highly motivated. If I have to go and live in an English-speaking country, I'll certainly pull my socks up in order to express myself in English because my daily survival there will depend on it.

Having said that, I give you 10 tips that will help you learn English quickly:

1. Listen while observing.
Language learning requires a lot of listening, just as we do with our mother tongue. However, when we speak, we don't just use words, we also use our bodies. Try to observe the gestures and the expression on the face of the person speaking, this will help you understand what they say even if you don't understand all the words. When you are able to do that, you will unconsciously be learning the language.

2. Understand without understanding.
You don't need to know the meaning of every single word that is said to understand what someone wants to tell you. Trust your intuition and the knowledge you already have. Each situation is within a context that you have already lived in your own language and, probably, an English person would say the same or something similar to what you would say in that situation, so understand the meaning of words before words, your brain will end up connecting both things.

3. Do not translate.
We know that it is very difficult not to do that, but it is important that we avoid translating as much as possible if we want to learn fast. When you learn a word, try to associate it with an image and not just a translation, so that when you want to use it, the word comes to your mind directly in English. The goal is that you end up thinking in English.

4. Play with words.
Start by learning nouns, verbs and adjectives, as we can build short sentences in English with them. Combine the same noun with a different verb, or the same noun with a different adjective and you'll get a lot of options. At first we will speak pidgin English, but little by little, we will be able to introduce other words that will help us form more complex sentences.

5. Make mistakes.
One of the things that prevents us from learning to speak English is the fear of making mistakes, that is, not structuring sentences well, using the wrong verb tense, mispronouncing a word. Trying to speak correctly means that when you are in the middle of a sentence and you don't know how to follow, you get stuck and end up frustrated. The person listening to you will probably understand you even if you don't speak correctly and will probably help you, and that will allow you to learn. It's normal to make mistakes at the beginning, but you learn from mistakes.

6. Go to the gym.
Obviously not literally, unless they speak English in that gym. What we need is to do what you do in a gym, that is, to train. Practice what you learn, memorise words, phrases or expressions in English and then say them out loud until they are fixed in your mind. It will be hard at first and we will feel stiff, but once our brain is used to English, it will become easier and we will only have to do some keep-fit exercises so as not to forget what we have learned.

7. Have fun.
Learning a language does not have to be boring, in fact, if we enjoy the learning process, we will surely learn faster. So try to introduce English in your life with those activities that you like doing. Learn songs in English, find online games in English, do word puzzles, watch tutorials in English on any topic you might be interested in, read, watch series or movies in English (at first it's better to see those you've already seen in Spanish), in short, find a way to introduce English in your life by doing activities you find amusing.

8. Build your own vocabulary.
No one better than ourselves to know which English words we want to learn first. What would we like to learn? What do we usually talk about? Do I need to know words related to food? Make your own dictionary, try to find sentences where each word is used in order to see its use in context. If the vocabulary appeals to you, you'll learn it quickly.

9. Speak.
Use English from minute one. It doesn't matter if you mix Spanish and English at the beginning, or if you don't pronounce a word well..., speak. Those who are eager to be understood, even with little knowledge of English, often communicate better than those who know a lot but need to be sure that what they say is correct. Talk to yourself in the mirror, to the cat, to English students, find ways to contact some native English people, in short, create moments to speak English as much as you can.

10. Sort everything out.
After learning words, listening to them, practicing them..., you need to go further. You'll have to learn rules to sort out all you have learned. You will need to know how to talk about the present, the past or the future, or how to ask questions, make statements... To sum up, it is advisable to take an English course, either face-to-face or online, in order to have a greater command of English. If you choose the online option, I recommend that you take a look at lewolang, an English course that will help you a lot on your way to learning English.

If you know any other ways of learning English fast, do not hesitate to put it in the comments.